Strongly backing late Jayalalithaa’s long time aide Sasikala, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam today said she should become general secretary and lead the AIADMK.

V Sasikala arrives to pay her last respects to political commentator Cho Ramaswamy at his residence in Chennai.(PTI File Photo)

Strongly backing late Jayalalithaa’s long time aide Sasikala, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam today said she should become general secretary and lead the AIADMK.

“There is no second opinion on the issue. If anyone has second thoughts, they are not true AIADMK workers,” Jaya Plus Tamil TV channel reported Panneerselvam as saying.

He said Sasikala shared Jayalalithaa’s grief, she lived with her as her trusted aide and was like her sister. She imbibed the thoughts and working style of Jayalalithaa by being with her for over 30 years. She lived like Jayalalithaa’s shadow “till Amma’s death”, he said.

“Like Amma, Chinnamma (as Sasikala is referred to by party workers) knows each and every party worker. To ensure continuance of the party’s functioning with the same level of discipline one can find in the army, brought about by Amma, the only way out in the present situation is for Chinnamma to become the general secretary and lead the party,” he said.

“To fill the void in the party created by the demise of Amma, AIADMK senior party leaders and ministers have urged Chinnamma to take on the mantle of general secretary,” he said.

Panneerselvam, also the party treasurer, praised Sasikala for supporting Jayalalithaa till the end. He condemned criticism against Sasikala from certain quarters and said “rumours will not succeed”.

Earlier, a plea urging her to step into the shoes of Jayalalithaa was made by a delegation of leaders including AIADMK presidium chairman E Madhusudanan and Lok Sabha deputy speaker Thambidurai when they called on Sasikala at the Poes Garden residence of the late chief minister.

A host of state ministers, including Dindigul C Srinivasan and electricity minister P Thangamani expressed similar sentiments in interviews to the channel.

The leaders who called on Sasikala included former ministers KA Sengottaiyan, B Valarmathi, Gokula Indira, former Chennai mayor Saidai Duraisamy, party spokesperson CR Saraswathy and senior leader A Tamil Magan Hussain.

Sasikala, 60, has been a close aide of Jayalalithaa for three decades and has always been seen as a power centre in the party.

AIADMK organisational secretary C Ponnaiyan said there was nothing wrong in the chief minister and key party leaders consulting her. He had also asserted that the general secretary would be elected soon and party remained united.

Jaya Plus Television Channel, a pro-AIADMK Tamil News channel, aired the opinions of several AIADMK functionaries and state ministers, who lent support for Sasikala and urged her to assume the top party position soon.